No reserve. Check it out at:

http://tinyurl.com/igl9

why auction a modem that cannot be used anywhere... or almost anywhere?

Most divisions have abandoned that system of modems...



John P. wrote:

lars wrote:
....and those few MSO's that still have proprietary CyberSurfr systems
don't allow customers to use their own modems.

That someone selling a useless piece of junk like this while passing it
off as such a wonderful thing can get a 100% positive feedback rating is
more reason why I stay away from auction sites. I'd rather be approached
by a panhandler who makes no promises to me than a con artist who tries
to convince me that I can use proprietary junk.

Sad. Very sad.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Blatant Plug:
Support me at: http://www.holzemville.com/mall/

"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in a message

My apologies. I frequent several other newsgroups with a similar policy, but
are concern is more with people who are excessive or trying to sell
something non-topic related. Between ourselves it is considered more of a
courtesy to say "Hey, I put this up on eBay if any of you are interested".

Point taken. I'll not do it here.

"lars" <news4@alstown.com> wrote in a message

Same reason why I'd auction anything else that *I'm* not using... because I
have no idea why someone would like to buy something and for what use they
may or may not have for it. I make it clear what I am selling... the buyer
decides if he has a use for it or not a chooses to bid or not. If I sell a
PC case and some guy wants it because he makes planters out of them, who am
I to decide?

Look at how well old analog cell phones sell on eBay. I saw one guy that
must have bought 200 of them. I have no idea why, but I'm sure he knows.

"Warren" <wholzem@hotmail.com> wrote in a message;

Who are you to decide what a buyer considers junk? If *you* don't have a use
for it, don't bid on it and don't buy it.


That's just ignorant. I make no claims in my ad as to what someone can or
can't use it for. I describe it as is, accurately and fairly. I think you
should give buyers credit for being able to figure out what they do or don't
want or need.

John P. wrote:

Your words include: "Get rid of your dial-up connection!", "Exceeds
current cable provider's specifications", and "Used, but in perfect
working condition."

None of those things are fair or accurate. You make absolutely no
mention that this modem requires a provider using a proprietary,
non-standard system.

You want to leave out the fact that only a tiny fraction of the North
American population has access to one of these proprietary systems,
fine. You want to leave out that most of that tiny number that do will
find that if they ask, their MSO will tell them they cannot use their
own modem, fine. But it is downright deceptive to proclaim that this
modem "exceeds current cable provider's specifications", it's misleading
to say it's in "perfect working condition" without also mentioning that
it won't work at all unless it is connected to a proprietary system.

By not mentioning that it requires a proprietary system to be used by
the MSO to work, or at the very least that it is not a standard DOCSIS
modem while insisting that it "exceeds current cable provider's
specifications", is "in perfect working condition", and the buyer can
"get rid of (their) dial-up connection" is very misleading.

No, you are probably not going to be convicted of fraud. You're just
barely truthful enough that a non-technical judge is going to rule in
your favor. But if this is how truthful you have been in your previous
dealings, and you have 100% feedback, then I have absolutely no faith in
the eBay system.

On the other hand, you still have zero bids on this fancy doorstop
you're trying to pass off as a way to "get rid of your dial-up
connection", so maybe the buyers are smart enough to see through your
BS-laden description.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Blatant Plug:
Support me at: http://www.holzemville.com/mall/

My spider-sense tingled when "John P."
<JohnP6617@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote:

Fine, but some buyers need help in knowing whether it would work in
their system. So add a small disclaimer to help buyers along:

"This cable modem does not work in all systems. Please check with
your cable system before bidding."

That way, you're REALLY making no claims as to what someone can and
can't use it for. And being an honest seller is really the most
important thing, right?



Kimberly Murphy-Smith -- kamurphy@ix.netcom.com
http://members.aol.com/kimmurphy/

Kimberly's Barbie Collection:
http://members.aol.com/kimmurphy/barbies.html

"Kimberly Murphy-Smith" <kamurphy@ix.netcom.com> wrote in a message


Thank you for your reasoned response. I assume that "Please ask questions
before bidding" would cover that. If we were talking about a $100 item here,
I might comprehend why anyone would feel it worth their time to even bother
commenting.

However, since you were decent enough in presenting your views, I added your
suggested blurb to the ad... as well as the suggestion that it might be used
only as a doorstop, and removed the line about it exceeding providers specs
(I took that from the ads of the other 6 that had sold in the past month).

Yup. And I have a wall that is covered with dead hard drives, old
motherboards and other electronics. Some of them are in varying states of
disassembly. I glued them there is in some sort of weird "art" display
thing. I needed a couple more things to fill it out and fill in some spaces
I had. I bought these things. Dead hard drives. 386 motherboards.

I can't believe people here manage to know exactly what a buyer wants and
why.

It's also probably not a bad idea to mention that the modem is proprietary
and works with Motorola CDLP CMTS systems only (not compatible with DOCSIS).
It was a great product, and though it has been phased out by most major
providers, there are still a few cable systems using CDLP.

FWIW,
Bob

"John P." <JohnP6617@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote in message
news:rSTVa.14405$It4.10114@rwcrnsc51.ops.asp.att.n et...